With tupping coming up, it’s time to go through your ewes (if you haven’t already) to identify any lighter ones and get them ready for the ram.
Light ewes at mating will have worse lambing performance come spring. Ewes should be at body condition score (BCS) 3-3.5 for tupping.
What does BCS 3-3.5 look like? Well, if there is more than 6 weeks’ wool on the sheep, you will have to FEEL to get the full picture. To do this:
Place your hand with the thumb on top of the spine and fingers along the short ribs (flank area).
With your thumb, you should be able to feel the spine, but find it hard to count the bones.
With your fingers, do the same as above for the short ribs. The muscle between these bones should be flat to round (not hollowed).
Learn what a 3 feels like! Every animal will fit into two categories from there:
Category 1 – BCS 3 or above, which require only maintenance feeding.
Category 2 – Below BCS 3, which require increased feed.
What to do with lower scoring ewes?
Pulling out your lower scoring ewes will have a big impact on them. They wont necessarily need to be fed more, just being in a smaller mob is likely to help.
It is recommended to feed pastures of 5-6cm, not going below 3cm (1,500 kgDM/ha) as stock will lose weight.
Some farms have drastically increased their scanning percentages simply by adding in body condition scoring to their animal health calendars and keeping records of these for culling purposes.
Have you got too many lambs on?
Now is also a good time to review your lamb kill policy and see where you are at. Ensure that you don’t have too many lambs on for too long! This could result in not being able to sufficiently prepare your ewes for mating.
Remember, an extra few dollars on your lambs this season could cost you numbers of lambs to sell next year. There is profit in numbers!
